Chairman King Concerned National Security Risked by Leaks to Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal

Makers of Zero Dark Thirty scrutinized.

Daniel Halper

December 18, 2012 12:15 PM

In response to a report that classified information had been leaked to the makers of the Hollywood movie Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal, Congressman Peter King, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, says he's concerned.

"The news that the DoD Inspector General has referred an aspect of its investigation to DoJ for possible criminal prosecution is quite troubling," says King in a statement. "I requested this investigation in August 2011 to ensure that our national security was not placed at risk by the Obama Administration leaking potentially classified information about the bin Laden raid to filmmakers Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal. Our national security and the personal security of Special Operators and the CIA Officers involved was, and remains, my only concern. This reported referral by the DoD Inspector General is an indication that our security and theirs was, indeed, placed at risk by people who wanted to help Hollywood make a movie."

King concludes, "I eagerly await receipt of the reports of the DoD Inspector General, as well as that of the CIA Inspector General."

Pentagon investigators concluded that a senior Defense Department official who’s been mentioned as a possible candidate to be the next CIA director leaked restricted information to the makers of an acclaimed film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and referred the case to the Justice Department, according to knowledgeable U.S. officials.

The Justice Department received the case involving Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers in September, but so far it’s declined to launch a criminal prosecution, said two senior U.S. officials who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

The case involved a determination by investigators of the Pentagon’s inspector general’s office that Vickers provided the makers of the film “Zero Dark Thirty” with the restricted name of a U.S. Special Operations Command officer who helped plan the May 2, 2011, raid on bin Laden’s hideout in Pakistan, one official said.